Aachen, Germany—Aug. 20  

France jumped into the lead in the first round of the team final at the FEI European Show Jumping Championships. On a day when clear rounds were hard to get, overnight individual leader Penelope Leprevost produced yet another foot-perfect performance when first in for the French side. And when teammates Simon Delestre and Kevin Staut did likewise, the French team stood firm on the score they carried through from yesterday’s opening speed competition to move up from second to the top of the leaderboard. 

The Dutch demonstrated exactly why they are the reigning world champions when also posting three fault-free runs to move up from fifth to the silver medal spot. Meanwhile the first-day leaders from Germany slipped to third, though their decline was halted by two brilliant runs from Ludger Beerbaum and Daniel Deusser. 

With only the top 10 teams eligible for tomorrow’s second round medal-decider, today’s competition was a fierce one, and the British dropped one place to fourth ahead of Ukraine. The Swiss rose to the occasion, rocketing up from 13th to sixth when they were the only others to add nothing to their scoreline. Spain, Denmark, Ireland and Sweden also made the cut.

Emotions have been high all week with Olympic qualification also hanging in the balance. The last three places on offer to European teams are currently in the hands of the British, Swiss and Spanish. But the Danes and the Irish are hot on their heels, and it’s still all to play for in tomorrow’s closing stages.

Another Great Track

Frank Rothenberger presented another great track today, testing riders of all levels. Israeli individual Danielle Goldstein was first to find the key with her mare Carisma when going sixth of the 10 individuals who got the class underway. And when the next clear was posted by Romain Duguet with Quorida de Treho, the Swiss began their upward curve.

These championships have turned up some interesting new partnerships including Romania’s Andy Candin and his very sweet gray gelding Caruso, who competes without a noseband and seems to really want to please his rider. And Russia’s Maria Madenova and Natalia Belova were eye catchers with their two lovely horses, Kleiner Onkel and Upset des Cinq Chenes. 

The triple combination at fence 5 claimed plenty of victims, while the bending line from the vertical at 9 to the oxer at 10 and the following vertical at 11 needed to be carefully handled. However, two of the most influential obstacles on the course were the penultimate vertical, jumped off a rollback, and the final double of massive oxers. The latter produced more than a few moments of drama, including a fall for Portugal’s Luis Sabino Goncalves when his gelding Filou Imperio Egipcio, who had been going beautifully until then, suddenly threw in a stop at the second element. 

A few horses seemed to miscalculate the two-stride distance here, but the most spectacular of all was Ben Maher’s mare Diva, who picked up after one stride and landed in the middle of the second element. It wasn’t the perfect start to the British day, but both horse and rider left the arena unscathed and with another otherwise clean sheet.

A 12-fault result from Jessica Mendoza and Spirit T put Maher’s teammates under pressure, but then Joe Clee, lying individually third after a spectacular first day with Utamaro D’Ecaussines, produced another fabulous run.

“You couldn’t get it wrong; you had to ride every fence, think about the lines, even the last fence, the problems it caused,” said Great Britain’s Michael Whitaker. “You had to get it all right. Joe was brilliant, and Ben was brilliant. What [Diva] did was absolutely nothing to do with Ben. She just took it in her own hands to take off, and Ben did unbelievable to stay on! He deserves a medal actually!”

There was no room for error when Whitaker set off with the stallion Cassionato, and his reaction when retrieving the situation with an amazing ride epitomized the spirit and passion that has been rippling through the competition arena this week. 

After leaving the arena he said, “I’ve got a lot of confidence now in my horse. I didn’t know what to expect, he’s never been in this ring, and he’s never been under that kind of pressure, so I didn’t know how he would react, and he actually rose to the occasion.”

And then Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum, another much-respected older statesmen of the sport, came up and shook his hand. “Great job,” he said. “I hope you make it through to the Olympics,” and Michael Whitaker burst into tears. 

The 55-year-old veteran admitted he’d been feeling the pressure, despite it being his 14^th European Championships. “If I’d come out and messed it up that was it actually; we wouldn’t be going to the Olympics, but now we’re still fighting tomorrow—even for a medal,” he explained.

Storming Up The Leaderboard 

Meanwhile the Dutch were storming up the leaderboard with clears from Jeroen Dubbeldam and his world championships winning ride SFN Zenith, Jur Vrieling with VDL Zirocco Blue, and Gerco Schroder with Glock’s Cognac Champblanc.

The host nation lost their grip with single mistakes from their first two riders, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Fibonacci) and Christian Ahlmann (Taloubet).

Beerbaum was amazing yesterday with Chiara, and today he rode another stunning round with Chiara.

“We need another good round, otherwise we are going down the ladder,” he said after coming out of the ring. But Deusser’s clear with Cornet d’Amour ensured Team Germany is still very much in contention going into tomorrow’s final team test.

“Everyone put in a good round,” said German coach Otto Becker. “Fibonacci jumped brilliantly and made an annoying mistake at the water. And Christian just slightly brushed a pole. It was a shame.”

The individual scoreboard hasn’t changed at the top end, with Leprevost still in pole position ahead of Beerbaum in second and Britain’s Clee in third.

“My mare was just a dream today,” said Leprevost. “She was so easy to ride, scopey, careful, everything was perfect for me.”

But she knows there is still plenty more to do before the medals are awarded. “Yes we are in the lead now, but we have one more difficult day tomorrow!” she pointed out.  

“It is not time for euphoria yet!” agreed French Chef d’Equipe, Philippe Guerdat. “I said from the very beginning that four or five teams will be battling it out for the title, and it was obvious that we will be among them.”

In 2011, the French team came second at the European Championships in Madrid, but they have never won the title before.

Click to get full results of the team standings as well as the individual results so far.